Australian sailors are being exposed to deadly asbestos fibres because the navy continues to use contaminated parts, years after they were outlawed.

Historian Keith Windschuttle - who has previously derided left-wing academics for sloppy fact-checking and fabrication - has been caught in a hoax involving fake CSIRO research, genetic modification and a non-existent biotechnologist.

Two four-year-old girls were among nine people injured when a car ploughed into a group of pedestrians in coastal Lorne yesterday.

Two people have been rescued from under a capsized catamaran near the Port Phillip heads.

The Federal Government has backed a radical revamp of Aboriginal land rights, saying the Victorian approach is an example of how native title could work better.

Up to 3000 Palestinian supporters rallied outside the State Library yesterday, calling for an immediate end to the Israeli assault that has resulted in hundreds of deaths in Gaza in recent days.

It was more like a folk festival than a political rally when 600 Jewish and other Australians gathered on the steps of Parliament yesterday to show solidarity with Israel and condemn Hamas.

Hamas must accept Israel's right to exist within secure borders, Opposition leader says, as acting Julia Gillard resists calls to condemn Israel's ground incursion into the Gaza Strip.

Reduced consumption of water will do more to inflate household prices than some of Victoria's biggest and most controversial water projects, as retailers scramble to recoup emerging holes in revenue.

In the foyer of her school, flanked by nervous classmates and her watchful parents, Rebecca Williams waited.